AUS vs IND vs SL: Quick Start Performances
In the shorter formats of the game, getting off to a good start is extremely important. In ODIs, for example, a solid start is the need of the hour for both the batting team as well as the bowling team. The Castrol Index terms the first 10 overs – also known as the Mandatory Powerplay Overs – as the Quick Start Overs. In these overs, there are only two fielders allowed outside the 30-yard circle; hence, the batting team should aim to make a brisk start to the game. This will set the base and make it easy for the middle and lower order batsmen to stabilize the innings without taking many risks when the field restrictions are relaxed.
On the other hand, the bowling side would be looking to restrict the opposition with important top order wickets which will peg them back and help them utilize different part time options in the later overs. A good start by the batting side can single-handedly take the game away from the opposition.
Performances of All Three Teams in Quick Start Overs (7 ODIs so far): 
Three top-ranked teams – Australia (1st), India (2nd) and Sri Lanka (4th) – are currently playing in the ODI tri-series Down Under and the tournament is wide open so far with the hosts on 14 points, India on 10 and Sri Lanka on 7 from the seven matches played up till now. All three sides have dangerous opening batsmen who can demolish the opposition bowling attack on any given day. Australia has the likes of David Warner and Matthew Wade; Sri Lanka possesses Tillakaratne Dilshan, and India has Virender Sehwag and the maestro Sachin Tendulkar. Owing to the fast and bouncy bowler-friendly pitches in Australia, this series so far hasn’t seen humongous totals. The highest so far has been 288 posted by Australia against India in the seventh match at Brisbane. 
India has scored the highest number of runs in the Quick Start Overs with 230 runs from five matches with the best average of 46 runs per 10 overs. They have had to go the tough way chasing in all matches under lights. Impressively, the World Champions have successfully chased two totals in excess of 230 and tied one against Sri Lanka. On all the three occasions, they have had a good beginning in the Quick Start Overs as they lost just one wicket and scored more than 40 runs in that period. In the rest of the games, they have lost more than one wicket and lost the match. Gautam Gambhir has been their main man with 193 runs and a healthy strike rate of over 80. In the bowling department, Vinay Kumar has been the find of the tournament for them as he is currently the joint highest wicket-taker with nine wickets. Four of those wickets have come in Quick Start Overs at a staggering Economy Rate of just 3.58. What makes this performance more pleasing is the fact that he has bowled the highest number of overs in this period, 24.
Australia is the second best team in the Quick Start Overs with 216 runs from five matches at an average of 43.2 runs per 10 overs. They have batted first in all of them and won three, lost two. David Warner has given them good starts and he is the second highest scorer in the Quick Start Overs with 100 runs at a decent strike rate of 83.33. The fact that he has lost his opening partner early in most of the matches makes his contribution all the more important. He has had starts but has failed to capitalize on them. Mitchell Starc has been their best bowler, picking up three wickets but has given away runs at five per over. Brett Lee, who made his comeback after his toe injury, has performed well, scalping two wickets from eight overs at an economy rate of just 4.25.
Sri Lanka has managed 175 runs from four matches at an average of 43.75 runs per 10 overs. The impressive fact about their batting in the Quick Start Overs is that they have lost fewer wickets… Just four! The Lankans have scored 43.75 runs per wicket, compared to Australia’s 27 and India’s 28.75. A lot of credit goes to former skipper Tillakaratne Dilshan as he has scored the maximum number of runs in this window with 105 runs from four matches at a healthy strike rate of 84.6. His opening partner Upul Tharanga has been abject, amassing just 26 runs from three matches at a dismal strike rate of 34.61. A mature Dilshan has played sensibly but has failed to capitalize on good starts. Mahela Jayawardena opened with him in their last ODI at Sydney and they scored the highest number of runs scored in a match – 66 – in the Quick Start Overs, helping them achieve a crucial bonus point. Hopefully, this pair will carry on and provide many more good starts for the Lions. Lasith Malinga has provided them wickets but has been expensive going at 5.91 runs per over. Nuwan Kulasekara has bowled with great discipline giving away just 3.84 runs per over and picking up two wickets from 19 overs.
Overall, the likes of Tendulkar (46 runs), Ricky Ponting (11 runs) and Michael Clarke (43 runs) have disappointed to a great extent. Tendulkar and Ponting, in particular, have struggled to see off the new ball. The former Australia captain’s strike rate in the Quick Start Overs has been the lowest with 28.9, which says a lot about his struggle with the bat in this format. With Ponting, in all likelihood, about to declare his exit from limited overs cricket, it will be interesting to see how the new crop shapes up. As of now, all three teams have thrown up some gems in young seamers like Vinay Kumar, Nuwan Kulasekara and Mitchell Starc who have adapted pretty quickly to the challenges of bowling in the Quick Start Overs.
